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Monday, June 30, 2014

Rob has been working on this project for quite some time. We have been able to enjoy some quality time in our backyard now that it is complete.

We previously had a small deck on the house when we moved. It went out to the exact spot that my yellow lab, Lance, is perched upon in this picture. It had a lot of railings around it as well.

Rob extended the deck a few more feet last summer. He built the pergola himself over the past year. Yes, I said year. If you have been following our blog for a while you understand that statement. Two weekends ago he stained the deck gray and the pergola white.

We added a small bistro set and chaise from Wal-Mart. We will eventually get a large set, but for now these two pieces are functional for our use. I ordered this rug from Overstock.

I picked up this adorable garden stool from Lowes. The pillows are from Overstock.

I purchased the set out outdoor curtains from Target last year. Thanks to an end cap sale spot where these were marked down to $5 a piece. There were an online order return. They were originally almost $40 per panel. I picked up two clearance planters from Target last week, and Rob put some plants in them. Apparently the larger plant will grow pretty quickly.

These planters were $27 a piece. Wynn's little chair was purchased from Lowes last year, but the other day I saw they still had them in stock.

Rob put some eye hooks in the top of the pergola to hang some outdoor strand lights. They were about $8 a box for the bulb lights and $12 a box for the lantern set. They really provide a great light source once the sun goes down. We were able to spend two evenings in a row for almost two hours with no kids waking up. That is a miracle in our house at this point.

We are going to find a new home for our grill soon. That way we can have even more space on our deck. The cost for the actual deck extension and pergola was a little under $700 for lumber, stain and other odds and ends.

Thursday, June 26, 2014

We have made some progress in the laundry room. After Rob installed a new bead board drop ceiling he built a new shelf for storage.

When we moved into our house six years ago our laundry room was pretty ordinary. I basically threw everything in there and shut the door. Pale blue walls, ugly drop ceiling and no storage except for a small shelf.

Our new drop ceiling was the first item on the to do list. We did have to change our wireless router that Rob hid in the ceiling, and he said it was quick and easy to remove the panel for access.

I purchased this large canvas on clearance for $20. I was in search of something large and inexpensive. I had a chance to swing by Kohl's, and I just happened to locate this. I thought it would look nice with the gray walls.

I got this adorable rug at Marshall's for $14. It is approximately three by five feet, and perfect for just in front of the washer and dryer.

I also grabbed some lined baskets from Home Goods during my lunch hour one day to store the various laundry related items. I think they were about $10 a piece.

It is difficult to take pictures of this room for me because there is no natural light. The walls were painted in leftover Sherwin Williams Repose Gray. We used this in the nursery, and I thought it would brighten up this room as well.

Rob built the nine foot long shelf that is above our washer and dryer now. We previously had cabinets, and about a month before the boys came last fall one fell off the wall. It took out the hot and cold lines you see just below the shelf. Water gushed out of the wall for about ten minutes, and as you can imagine it did not take long to flood an entire level of our house. Therefore, we decided a shelf with very sturdy brackets would make more sense to have in this room. Especially because we are unsure the studs in the wall can handle the weight of large cabinets.

Rob had to put a couple pieces of wood together to make the shelf. He routed a nice beveled edge along it and stained it.

Next on the do to list is to make a skirt for around the utility sink. We originally were just going to leave the vinyl tile floors in tact. But, Rob found some flooring on clearance at Home Depot for less than $50. The original price tag was $450! When he finds some time this summer he hopes to install it. I am looking forward to saying goodbye to the vinyl tile and hello wide plank Pergo.

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Target Wedding Registry is a great place to by a wedding gift that can be personal and fun. The summer season is a popular time to get married, and you can pull together a beautiful gift on a reasonable budget. I purchased a beautiful Menu Chalkboard for $34.99 from their website and paired it will several other fun products.

I picked up this placemat for $2.99 to line the plant stand.

I thought this plant stand ($24.99) would make an excellent side table or serving tray. It comes fully assembled which is a plus and folds together very simply. It is a great height for a side table on your patio.

The outdoor dining pieces are great for summer entertaining. They are plastic and melamine, which makes them safe to use around your pool or other entertaining areas when you are not worried about broken glass. The mason jar pitcher goes for $7.99 and the set of four mason jar glasses are $11.99. I added in some fun plates that are $15.99 for a set of eight.

I made some refreshing water drinks by just adding some strawberries and lemon slices. I think this is the perfect summer drink to keep you hydrated in the heat. I dressed the glasses up with some paper chevron straws too.

All of these pieces would make the perfect summer entertaining wedding gift. You could even set it up easily at a bridal shower for the couple to see how pretty everything looks together. This is a great gift for people that live in any type of dwelling because of the folding plant stand. It will not take up a lot of room. The menu board can be hung from the wall very easily as it has designated holes on the back of it.

Cheers! I hope you enjoy this summer wedding registry gift with the fantastic products from Target. Head over to Target and put together a fun summer wedding gift of your own. If you are getting married make sure to check out some of these pieces for your own registry.

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Wynn and I went to Michaels in search of something she could make for Father's Day. She wanted to frame a picture just like she had done for Mother's Day. We purchased a plain wood frame and were walking around trying to figure out what to do with it. Wynn of course wanted to paint it, but I was looking for an easier way to complete the gift. Then we saw the Duck Tape display, and Wynn picked out the mustache tape for her frame.

With Wynn's help we covered the frame with the tape in a few minutes and it will done. So simple that my four year old could practically do it herself. I helped by cutting and lining up the tape before she pressed it down.She also insisted that we use the exact picture that was used in my Mother's Day frame. She wanted everything to be similar. It's hard to believe that the boys look a lot smaller in this picture than they do now.

Wynn just finished her first year of preschool. The boys just turned seven months, and I thought I'd share an updated picture of everyone.

Hope everyone has a great Father's Day on Sunday. Thanks for stopping by!

Monday, June 9, 2014

I had pinned a beautiful Halloween wreath from The Crafted Sparrow a few months ago, and really wanted to create something similar for a wreath for all the Patriotic summer holidays.I purchased some burlap with red,blue and silver accents from Michaels, a straw wreath form, colored felt and some mini pinwheels. I used a paper star I already had and some pins to attach the pieces of the wreath together.

I wrapped the straw wreath form in the plastic it came wrapped in, and that helps it not fall apart. I then followed the instructions from the The Crafted Sparrow to add the felt pieces. Here was my pile of them after I cut them out. I was not too worried about the them being the same perfect shape. I need to cut them out quickly.

I then let Wynn decorate a paper star for me to add. She decided to draw the blue and red lines around the edges. I thought it looked very good for a four year old. Then I took a part a pinwheel from the stick it came with and put it in with a pin.